Opera Philadelphia, in collaboration with Gotham Chamber Opera and Music-Theatre Group in New York, is proud to offer a fifth track in the nation’s first comprehensive, operatic Composer in Residence program. Funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the program provides professional development opportunities for today’s most promising opera composers, selected on a competitive basis.  Applications are being accepted from January 12 through January 30, 2015.

The program fosters tomorrow’s masterpieces of American opera through individualized creative development. The company seeks a Composer in Residence eager to step beyond his or her musical comfort zones and who will work zealously with the resident companies and advisors to take this timeless art form and infuse it with the artistic, technological, creative, and collaborative sensibilities most relevant to our time. The chosen candidate will join fellow composers Missy Mazzoli, Andrew Norman, and David T. Little in cultivating his/her skills in all aspects of opera production,learning from colleagues like composer Jennifer Higdon, librettist Mark Campbell, mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard, dramaturge Cori Ellison, baritone Nathan Gunn, and opera/vocal coach MikaelEliasen.

“Over the past four years, the Composer in Residence program has quickly grown into a central element of Opera Philadelphia’s commitment to the creation of new operatic work and our deeply held belief in supporting composers with equal measure as we do performing artists,” said David B. Devan, General Director & President of Opera Philadelphia.  “Opera Philadelphia, along with our partners Gotham Chamber Opera and Music-Theatre Group, thank The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for its visionary support of such a comprehensive program to create future generations of great American opera composers.”

The program is directed to composers of all professional levels who see opera as a significant component of their future creative work. There is no required creative output however composers are encouraged to make best use of resources provided.

This residency includes a yearly salary of $60,000 and benefits as well as substantial work and career development resources. The composer’s term will begin on a date, to be determined, contingent on funding; no sooner than June 1, 2015.

A more detailed description of the residency program may be found here.